Hello everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews and I'm sorry this chapter is rather short, I don't have much time to write during Finals week. Anyway, enjoy.

Note: this chapter is rather short because the next one is particularly long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia Axis Powers

Age Sixteen

Lunchtime Laughter

"Ludwig, Ludwig! Ludwig's gonna be alone forever!" The kids chanted as the German teenager walked by their lunch table. "You're gonna die alone, Beilschmidt!"

Ludwig ignored the other teenage boys, choosing instead to pay attention to his grumbling stomach. In school, lunch never came fast enough. Instead it was class after class, endless assignments and teachers droning on and on about things nobody cared about. He passed their table without a word, without a glance. Selecting the table farthest away from those rude kids as he could, the German boy unpacked his lunch silently, as always.

Damn, he really was starving. He had forgotten to eat breakfast after working out, and that had clearly affected his appetite. His workout had been more vigorous than usual, which certainly wasn't helping his hunger issues.

Gilbert had made his lunch today, and although it was just a simple sandwich, it looked delicious. Soft, fresh bread from the bakery a few blocks away and slices of different meats and cheeses. Produce they had bought on sale a few days ago made it complete.

"Ha! What a freak!" Another kid muttered from the table over, glaring daggers at him.

That's right, he wasn't like them, so they hated him. He didn't have words on his wrist, so he was ostracized. Feared and pitied. Taunted. Staring at his lunch, Ludwig's blue eyes narrowed sharply.

"Hey bro," he heard the a kid whisper to the other boy, "doesn't he have any words? Doesn't he have a soulmate?" The kid asked quietly.

Of course, Ludwig could still hear them. He could always hear them. Dammit, couldn't they just text each other this shit? Why did he have to hear it too? He already knew he was different, he already knew he didn't have words, nor a soulmate. So why did he have to hear it from other people too?

The other boys didn't just have the decency to move to a different table or discuss the topic somewhere else. It was irritating, and he already knew that he couldn't do anything to stop them from gossiping about him. A few times, he had spoken out, telling them to stop talking shit about him, to leave him alone and mind their own business. It had almost ended in a fist fight.

The other boy just laughed at his friend's questions. "No, Beilschmidt doesn't have words because he's a freak. And of course he doesn't have a soulmate. Who'd ever fall in love with that scary-ass prick?" The boy laughed again. "No one would ever wanna be soulmates with that creepy fucker."

Yet another laugh sounded through the cafeteria before the kid spoke again. "If I was his soulmate, I'd kill myself."

The boy's laughter rang through his heads and did his words. Curling his hand into a fist, he felt his short fingernails dig into the palm of his skin, forming angry red crescents. In his seat at the empty cafeteria table, he reached out and pushed his lunch across the table, out of his sight.

Another annoying round of laughter before someone else spoke. "Yeah, he should just do his family a favor and kill himself already."

Ludwig wasn't hungry anymore.

To be continued

Next chapter: Age 17